Changing Places

New Frisini Motorsports COO Kurt Berger made his first official visit last week to the company's Florida boatbuilding operations.

Berger, formerly of Kurt’s Marine Competition Center Inc. of Brick, N.J., will oversee operations that include boat production, rigging, engine programs and service. He has 35 years of experience building and rigging high-performance boats and hours of cockpit race experience.

Berger’s primary office will remain inside the former Kurt's Marine Competition Center facility in Brick and he will handle sales, service, storage, rigging and more from the shop. Meanwhile, the addition gives Frisini a leg up in New Jersey. The new facility complements the on-water sales and service center already operating in conjunction with Frisini, Arrow Marine Services in Toms River.

“Kurt is such a great fit for Frisini Motorsports,” Frisini president Tony Frisina said in a statement. “To bring someone in of his caliber, with his experience, gives us a lot more credence. He’s an outstanding rigger and he knows how to set up a boat — as he’s proved over the years driving and working on raceboats that always finish. Plus he’s an honest, likeable guy with a solid reputation and a tremendous amount of passion for the sport.”

Caterpillar Inc. will close two facilities in Texas and Panama and is considering shutting its engine manufacturing plant in Illinois as part of a strategy to boost profitability and better handle business cycles, according to Reuters.

Danielle Brown, vice president and chief information officer for Brunswick Corp., was recently honored among the "Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America" as chosen by Savoy Magazine, a leading African-American lifestyle publication.